GIBSON INDEX NEWSLETTER –JULY-AUGUST 2017 – Issue 131

Welcome to the UK’s most comprehensive and best-read Newsletter on Small Technology Companies, Academic Enterprise and Latest Innovation

While productivity is measured in various ways that satisfy economists and Government departments it is often the simplest things that crucify our personal productivity – something those in power rarely taken into account.Take roadworks. In London, and in hundreds of locations around the UK, councils and contractors put up miles of bollards and barriers long before any works actually begin. In London the few remaining three-lane and two lane highways are reduced to one – as anyone who used the Finchley Road in July - found to their cost. No works were carried out at the site until three days later, causing five mile jams – all ordered by Transport for London, the only city authority in the world to cut its road network.Take ‘open office’ layouts. Many people value the privacy and efficiency they gain from individual offices. Google and other ‘progressive’ companies compel staff to work in factory-like conditions – in which staff are forced to sit at long benches, suffer the headphone noise of anyone nearby, have to listen to gossip and chatter on mobile phones that completely ruins their concentration.Some 70% of US offices now have no or low partitions, according to one survey. One sufferer said “Nothing is private.. All day there is constant shuffling, yelling, laughing, all manner of interruption, plus music piped through a PA system. Anyone leaving at 5pm is eyeballed by colleagues as if an act of shame and desertion had been committed.” Companies that allow their staff to work from home discovered a boost in productivity.Take Microsoft software updates. While all agree that Vista and Win8 were the company’s lowest moments – a change from XP even to Windows7 causes a huge block on productivity. Microsoft inflicts misery on hundreds of millions of users who will never use the ‘advanced’ features. Every task that once took a single key stroke now takes three. Simple, crucial functions once easily found - have been embedded deep in new software. Scotland Yard and other police forces love the speed, quality and ease of use that comes from XP. Staff who have used Windows 7, let alone Windows 10, find nothing but irritation, and no improvement, from the switchover. Improving productivity has always been one of the Government’s priorities but very often it is the simplest things that affect our ability to do our jobs. How productivity is measured might need a revolution of its own.. --------------------------------------------------

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The Newsletter is compiled and edited by Marcus Gibson, former Financial Times technology correspondent, who has been covering enterprise and innovation for more than 20 years. The

Newsletter aims to highlight developments in at least 100+ companies each month. It is derived from the wide-ranging news-gathering operation that produces the Gibson Index SME database,

which now contains profiles on more than 63,000 UK-based technology SMEs.

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COMPANY OF THE MONTH

Dr Vivian Chan at Sparrho chosen for MIT’s ‘Innovators Under 35’

Selected by the MIT Technology Review in this year’s awards, Dr Chan is CEO and co-founder of Sparrho, a platform that blends AI and human expertise to make science more discoverable, understandable, and shareable. Sparrho is London-based and was founded in 2013. It is a scientific information platform which aims to facilitate access to expert knowledge for everyone and present it in an understandable, attractive format which is relevant to users’ daily lives. Dr Chan says: “The idea is to allow anyone, like my grandmother, for example, to understand cutting edge research in the relevant subject without in-depth prior knowledge.” Dr Chan has twice been invited to address EU ministers about the importance of open data for innovation and led Sparrho to the semi-finals of the 5th cohort of the Duke of York’s Pitch@Palace programme. She was also selected by Management Today as one of its 35 Women Under 35 in 2015. Dr Chan completed her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, after spending a year working in a venture fund in Australia. She is a former president and chairman of Cambridge University Technology Enterprise Club (CUTEC) and was part of the inaugural Entrepreneur First cohort in 2012. Sparrho recently raised $3 million in its latest funding round; the investment will help Sparhho provide this access to millions of people as the platform is surfacing open access papers hidden in the maelstrom of peer reviewed research websites, rather than all papers, which are behind pay barriers. While the company has a future Dr Chan disappointed investors with some comments that were seen as naïve. She apparently aims to ‘democratise science’. She believes that while the internet has put much of the world’s information at our fingertips, the majority of scientific research ‘was still behind expensive paywalls beyond the reach of most people’. www.sparrho.com

SME NEWS – ENGINEERING, ELECTRONICS & ENERGY

Sensor firm Inductosense wins £2m from IMeche’s Stephenson Fund

The firm, a spinout of Bristol University, is developing ultrasound sensors for monitoring corrosion, cracks or defects. The technology is known as the WAND (Wireless and Non-Destructive system) – a small, passive wireless sensor is permanently attached to a structure and measurements can be taken using a probe, even if the structures are beneath a layer of material. This leads to a significant reduction in cost and downtime associated with conventional monitoring. “Over the past year we have had great success in development of the technology and commercial traction,” said Matt Butcher, the chief executive of Inductosense. “With the investment we want to accelerate our pace and progress from

trials to commercial deployment of sensors. We are also commercialising some exciting new products.” In mid-2017 the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has invested in Bristol-based company Inductosense, via part of the £2m Stephenson Fund. Stephen Tetlow, IMechE’s chief executive, said the technology “has the potential to cut maintenance and downtime costs of wind turbines, nuclear power plants and other large infrastructure – making maintenance more efficient and low-cost”. www.inductosense.com

Oxford PV named as one of only 50 most innovative companies in the world

Oxford Photovoltaics (Oxford PV), a leader in perovskite solar cells, was named as one of the top 50 most innovative companies in the world, by the German edition of MIT Technology Review. The company was recognised for its innovative perovskite solar cell technology, which has the potential to dramatically improve the efficiency of silicon solar cells and support the proliferation of solar energy generation globally. Oxford PV announced at the end of 2016 a Joint Development Agreement with a large, global manufacturer of solar cells and modules – a partnership to further develop Oxford PV’s perovskite-based technology from lab scale to manufacturing-ready status. The technology was developed over several years by Dr Chenghuan Zhong, Dr Anthony Croxford and Prof Paul Wilcox from the Ultrasonics and Non-Destructive Testing Group at the University of Bristol. In late 2015 the company was formed with funding from InnovateUK alongside angel investment. Since then the team have launched their first product, a system for measuring internal corrosion on pipework, and secured orders. They are working with a number of major companies on trials with an initial focus on monitoring assets across oil and gas and nuclear.www.oxfordpv.com

Fast-expanding DBD Group now operates in six countries

Entrepreneur Andrew Carlick set up, owns and remains the CEO of DBD Ltd, a highly successful SME with a turnover of more than £10 million in 10 years. Operating primarily in the nuclear sector, DBD employs over 90 professional engineers, with a commitment to growing the next generation of engineers. DBD offer complex management, technical and engineering issues focused on highly regulated industries, focused on supporting our clients in the UK and Europe. Its success since launch in 2004 has been built on the quality of delivery to clients, provided by our management and technical expertise. The consistent, high quality delivery has led to the establishment of trust based, long term relationships. Marie Carlick was special assistant to the chairman of the BNFL in the 1990s. At the NDA Supply Chain Awards 2016, DBD were Highly Commended in the Best Example of Innovation by an SME category for the Sellafield Site Resilience Project.

DBD were tasked by Sellafield Ltd to design and implement the Resilience Evaluation Process which examines nuclear facilities, identifies fault pathways and the effectiveness of the corresponding emergency response. The Resilience Project followed Fukushima in 2011 which prompted fundamental reviews of the resilience of nuclear power plants worldwide. DBD were tasked by Sellafield Ltd to design and implement the Resilience Evaluation Process which examines nuclear facilities, identifies fault pathways and the effectiveness of the corresponding emergency response. www.dbdlimited.com

Engineering firm Exponent pinpoints cause of Samsung phone battery failure

Independent agency Exponent International said the thermal failure in battery A of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 was caused due to “unintended damage to the negative electrode windings consistently in the corner of the cell.” This was due to a design flaw in the cell pouch and said there was not enough space to accommodate the electrode assembly, thus increasing risk of failure. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fires and explosions were caused by defects in the smartphone’s battery, and the company has now released details of its investigation into the issue. The South Korean tech giant said that leading industry consultancy groups UL, Exponent and TUV Rheinland also conducted investigations into the problem. The report by Exponent blames welding defects and says some cells had no protective tape over the positive electrode tab, which resulted in the failure and short-circuiting. UL’s analysis also blames welding defects in the battery, along with poor alignment and inconsistent shape of insulation tapes for the problem. Samsung has also set up a Battery Advisory Group, which consists of external advisers, academic and research experts, to ensure the problems do not happen again. Members of this group include top materials science professors from the University of Cambridge, UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Exponent’s founder Dr Bernard Ross specializes in heavy equipment failure analysis, crane, hoist and aerial devices accident investigation, mechanical and structural system assessment, machine design and guarding issues, product design review, and aviation accident reconstruction. His research expertise includes structural analysis, vibration and impact studies, fracture mechanics, explosion dynamics, and stability performance. www.exponent.com

First Square Trading Ltd was awarded Exporter of the Year in North East

Established in 2005, First Square Equipment designs, manufactures and sells excavator fronts and attachments for general construction, mining, demolition, marine, tunnelling, material handling and piling industries. The niche product manufacturer has expanded its exports widely. It recently built a 30m teledipper for installation on site to customer Caterpillar 365 in Canada, and the finished rig will then go to work on several high profile jobs in the Toronto region. It designed and FAE tested shear jaws for Caterpillar MP Multiprocessor series and have a set of

MP15 jaws in stock – they hope to roll this out and in near future offer replacement jaw sets for La Bounty, Genesis, Furukawa, etc. It offers booms, dippers and fronts, teledippers, high reach demolition, long reach material handling, dipper extensions, tunnelling, TAB fronts and telescopic piling. Its equipment is compatible with all major brands of machines including JCB, Caterpillar, Komatsu, Volvo, Liebherr, Hyundai, Doosan, and many others. They have their own in-house design and production facilities.www.firstsquare.com

SME NEWS – CHEMICALS, MATERIALS & ENVIRONMENT

Additive Manufacturing Technologies Ltd (AMT) gets £624,000 from Innovate UK

The grant from Innovate UK to develop the next generation PostPro3D machine that will fully integrate into the digital manufacturing chain. AM Technologies are the world’s first company focused on providing digital technology solutions to post-process 3D Printed polymer parts. Current post-processing methods are labour intensive, costly and time consuming. Its PostPro3D technology allows for the first time 3D printed parts to be processed to a defined surface finish, suitable for end use applications, quickly and consistently. Their automated solutions significantly reduce lead time and manufacturing costs. AMT will be lead a consortium, made up of Xaar, the UK’s leading industrial inkjet manufacturer, and Atomjet, a designer and manufacturer of specialist technology machines, for the two-year project. The £624,000 sum has been co-funded between Innovate UK and the three consortium members. Enabling AMT to develop the next generation of its existing patent pending PostPro3D post processing technology, the Innovate UK award has been welcomed by the company. “The Innovate UK funding award is a significant step in the development of the proven PostPro3D technology which provides the ‘missing piece’ in the digital manufacturing chain,” said Joseph Crabtree, AMT’s CEO. “We are looking forward to working with OEM industrial partners to implement this technology into their 3D printing digital factories.” Typically, 3D-printed parts require manual post processing to produce a higher quality surface finish. While effective in improving the aesthetics of the part, these processes add significant cost and slow down production rates, reversing some of the renowned benefits of 3D technology. The next generation automated machine will achieve an industry-first by combining intelligent algorithms and automated feedback to produce a predictable and repeatable surface finish. By fully integrating PostPro3D into digital manufacturing chain, the technology will for the first time enable 3D printing to compete with and displace traditional manufacturing. www.amtechnologies.co.uk

Tech21 Licensing Ltd develops advanced impact protection material

FlexShock - impact protection for mobile devices – is an ultra-thin and lightweight material that absorbs and dissipates force and can withstand drops up to 13 feet. Tech21 put the product through rigorous testing, and it partnered with the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) to develop the testing methodology. The firm, based in Twickenham, west London, is one of the world’s fastest growing technology companies, producing stylish yet protective cases for the latest devices and tablets. Located on Eel Pie Island in the River Thames in London, the team at Tech21 ranges from polymer engineers to designers and marketeers. The island has been the home of innovation and invention for some time, however the island is also known for rock and roll having seen early performances by the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and others. It won Investors in People Silver award - held by just 14,000 organisations across 75 different countries. Tech21 excelled in nine key assessment criteria including workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures, only possible by the views and opinions of the firm’s UK staff, which tech21 continue to promote through ‘employee voice’ programmes. Tech21 was been named in the Sunday Times ‘Fast Track 100’ of British tech companies. Tech21’s founders are Jason Roberts, and John Doughty, CEO. www.tech21.com

Adshead Ratcliffe & Co Ltd bought up by American group

The Belper, Derbyshire-based company, which trades as Arbo, is a £10m-turnover sealant manufacturer that can trace its roots back more than 150 years. It was acquired by a New York Stock Exchange-listed group Carlisle Companies Inc.Adshead Ratcliffe makes sealants and coatings which are used by architects and contractors to waterproof buildings. The Belper business was incorporated in the 1940s but dates back to 1859. The selling shareholders, who acquired Arbo in a management buyout in 2007, will continue to work for the company. Julian Miller, finance director at Arbo, said “We were keen to find the right succession plan for the Arbo business and Carlisle presented us with a great opportunity. We are excited to become part of their group, which undoubtedly brings new opportunities for Arbo.” Chris Koch, Carlisle’s president and chief executive, added: “The acquisition of Arbo complements our leading position in EPDM roofing systems in Europe and adds new products to our weatherproofing offerings used to improve the thermal performance of buildings. Arbo provides Carlisle additional channels for our existing products and a strong foundation from which to grow Arbo’s business throughout Europe.” www.arbo.co.uk

Associated Waste Management Ltd opens materials recovery facility in Leeds

It is part of a £15m expansion plan which will create 40 jobs. Valley Farm Road (VFR) in Stourton, Yorkshire, opened after AWM’s engineering partner Eggersmann from Germany supplied and installed the new plant.AWM invested a total of £10m, with an additional £5m in recycling equipment and £2.5m in the latest collection vehicles for both trade and skip waste. The depot was purchased in July 2016 and plans include the refurbishment of the site over the first four-year term of the 20-year lease. AWM has a turnover of £48m and employs in excess of 270 full time staff. The company was founded more than 20 years ago and has its headquarters on Gelderd Road in Leeds, less than three miles from the new site, and operates from a number of strategic locations in West and North Yorkshire. Tim Shapcott, commercial director, AWM, said: “The Stourton facility acquisition is the result of a number of significant contract awards for AWM over the past 24 months, culminating in the need for greater levels of innovation and processing capacity. It is a key element of our continued expansion plans, so we are very pleased that it has been successfully completed.” AWM buys, processes and recycles all grades of paper, plastic, metals, wood, textiles, bricks and rubble, glass, food and organic fractions, using any non-recyclable items for energy recovery. In 2015, the company ranked in the top 10 exporters of energy from waste, producing 180,000 tonnes of refuse derived fuel which supplied combined heat and power plants both in the UK and Europe. www.awm.uk.com

SME NEWS – IT, SOFTWARE, SERVICES & INTERNET

MIS Active Management Systems Ltd shortlisted in NatWest awards

It was shortlisted for the 2017 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Christopher McLaughlin is MD of Northwich, Cheshire-based MIS Active Management Systems (MIS AMS), entered the 2017 awards in the Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year category. MIS Active Management Systems have been providing solutions to social housing organisations for over 35 years. With customers ranging in size from 100 to over 40,000 homes, it is a supplier with the highest customer rating and as a one-stop source for housing management software. New functionality extends the reach with web and mobile capability so that agile working becomes a reality for customers, improving an organisation’s performance and raising standards. Development is carried out at offices in Cheshire. Through customer-led user groups, customers drive the development road map ensuring the solutions are always up to date with the latest industry trends and requirements and reflect the ever changing legislative landscape. www.mis-ams.com

BIM Technologies - Space Group of Architects Ltd - aims for BIM leadership

In April 2016 the UK Government became the first in the world to make compulsory the use of building information modelling software for all new buildings and infrastructure funded by state agencies – the so-called BIM Mandate.Construction, and even rail, are included in the mandate, in which all main contractors – and their suppliers – must adopt BIM in their operations.A leader in the field is BIM Technologies, which is working hard to become the UK’s leading BIM consultancy. Working behind the scenes with some of the UK’s biggest clients, contractors and consultants – it is led by CEO Rob Charlton. The firm employs a team of information managers, technologists, architects, surveyors, programmers and construction professionals, all of whom are knowledgeable about BIM. Back in 2010, the idea to host a conference for the emerging BIM community was discussed and the BIM Show Live was born. The event was designed for the early adopters – those who were passionate about bringing about change in the design and construction industry. Originally launched in London, after a couple of years the event moved up to Manchester Central and now it’s on the move again. BIM Show Live was staged in Feb 2017 – held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne, again in partnership with BIM Technologies. http://bimtechnologies.co.uk

Amadeus Software Ltd is first UK software to win CI Specialiation distinction

To accelerate recent expansion the software firm is now developing an old school building in Witney into new offices, said commercial director Maxine Scanlon.Director Daniel Morris said Amadeus Software was the first UK firm to receive CI Specialisation distinction based on capabilities and investment in SAS. To earn its SAS Specialisation in Customer Intelligence. SAS offers its Specialisation distinctions to select partners who have demonstrated a deep commitment to SAS knowledge and capabilities. He said “Amadeus Software is the first UK partner to receive the Specialisation. The achievement demonstrates our wealth of experience along with the confidence SAS Institute places in our Customer Intelligence services. Our services empower organisations, to better understand customer motivations in order to drive future growth and insights through the power of analytics.” Using modern software solutions such as SAS Viya, Amadeus can automate insightful decision making from vast amounts of rapidly changing data. Traditionally, statisticians manually build, test and refine models. Today, machine learning algorithms optimise models from bewildering numbers of parameters that would otherwise be impossible to complete manually. Amadeus Software purchased the new building in Wesley Walk, which dates back to 1850. The church hall was previously operated as a school and has been empty since 2010. The company, which employs about 36 staff, has started renovating the property and hopes to reuse materials and maintain as many of its features as possible.

https://amadeus.co.uk

Norwich-based company spearheads drive in visualisation software for small firms

In 2017 Complete Analytics Ltd, or Cascade.bi, based in Norwich, provides SMEs with powerful visualisations of company data using its analytics engine.MD Mark Donaldson said they have the ‘only tool available that takes data direct from Sage line 50 and turns it into simple, intuitive, pre-designed dashboards’. The analytics are conveniently displayed, can be drilled into with ease and sliced and diced in multiple ways across all segments of a business, allowing business owners and managers to quickly and easily monitor performance from anywhere in the world. In 2015 its Proof of Concept was completed and £150k SEIS funding secured. One non-exec director is Alan Phillips, who has run IT companies since 2001. First venture was 7Safe Ltd, which won the ‘Cambridge Evening news Small Business of the Year’ award in 2007. As founder and CEO, he led the exit to PA Consulting Group in 2012. Since then Alan has been involved with several ventures including a news and information website for the corporate bond market, performance marketing and mobile app development. www.cascade.bi

SME NEWS – BIOTECH, PHARMA & MEDICAL SCIENCES

Kent-based Levicept makes big progress with its pain-relieving drug

Levicept, the fast-moving biotechnology company, is beginning clinical trials of a new treatment for osteoarthritis and chronic pain developed in Kent. The company has begun the first phase of testing a ‘neurotrophin receptor fusion protein’ it created at its base in Discovery Park in Sandwich. The LEVI-04 treatment, as it is known, will be given to healthy volunteers and osteoarthritis patients at Hammersmith Medical Research in London. If trials are successful, it could open up a market for joint-pain relief estimated to be ‘worth more than $10 billion’. The concept aims to relieve pain without bringing on rapid progression of osteoarthritis, which is a side-effect of other forms of similar treatment. Levicept chief executive Simon Westbrook invented the protein when he worked at Pfizer. He acquired the rights and patented the project after the drugs giant announced it was closing its research facility in Sandwich in 2011, which has now become science-focused business estate Discovery Park. He was able to continue his work after receiving venture capital funding and a £2.4 million grant from Innovate UK in 2014. The company raised a further £10 million later that year with investors Advent and Glide to develop proof-of-concept leading to the first human clinical trials. Mr Westbrook said: “We believe that LEVI-04 could provide a meaningful benefit for the billion patients with chronic pain worldwide, who have limited treatment options.” He added studies show it “overcomes the shortcomings” of similar antibody treatments.

This offers “the same profound analgesia but without the negative effects”. www.levicept.com

Ethoss Regeneration Ltd produces new material for dental implants

In 2017 clinical director Dr Peter Fairbairn and Ethoss MD Dr Paul Harrison signed a distribution deal in Greece. It recorded record turnover figures in its second year of trading in 2017. Ethoss, based at Silsden, West Yorkshire, posted a 187% increase in turnover for the 2016/17 financial year. The firm specialises in a product which helps regenerate bone to support dental implants. Ethoss, which started in 2015, is already making inroads into global markets after signing distribution deals with partners in Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and France earlier this year. It has also recruited extra staff to cope with an increase in demand for its products. It is planning a further recruitment drive later this year. MD Dr Harrison said: “The pace of growth for Ethoss over the last 12 months has been outstanding. “We continue to grow our market share in the UK and, with the number of international partners we have signed up in recent across Europe, we expect to see company growth accelerating at an even more rapid rate in the year ahead. “Ethoss is a truly innovative solution which is befitting both dentists and patients, so we are delighted to see the market moving towards synthetic technologies and a superior product.” Ethoss is a synthetic bone graft material used to help patients regenerate bone to support dental implants. It is free from any animal or human content and generates 50 per cent new bone for the patient after 12 weeks. This process means surgical procedures can be completed more quickly and reliably. The product does not require an expensive separate collagen membrane to be used in the procedure. It reduces the cost to dentists and patients and helps to speed up healing times. http://ethoss.dental

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies opens big new development lab in North East

The Japanese company opened its $9 million, 10,000-square-foot, mammalian cell culture process development laboratories in Billingham, Teesside, which will support its monoclonal antibody (mAb) platform for cell culture development work. The UK expansion further supports the company’s trademarked monoclonal antibody (mAb) platform, named Saturn, which offers manufacturing services for drugmakers focused on cell culture-based therapies. The laboratories are designed to incorporate the latest high-throughput technologies, including fully automated high throughput bioreactors and chromatography systems,” said Andy Topping, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies’ chief scientific officer. Paul Found, COO, added “The Saturn Process Development Laboratories are a huge differentiator in the cell culture and monoclonal antibody process development space.”Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies also outlined $130 million in projects it had undertaken to build up a biologics CMO business. All of this is with the goal of hitting

about $1 billion in biologics contract work by 2023 as Fuji races competitors to capture the burgeoning biologics CDMO business. It is also investing $130m in the US as it tries to build a competitive edge against international rivals for future biologics’ contract work. The company this spring completed a $93 million Texas manufacturing facility it picked up several years ago. www.fujifilmdiosynth.com

Protak Scientific is leading the new science of decontamination validation worldwide

Protak has been working closely with Public Health England (PHE), an executive agency of the UK’s Department of Health (UK DoH) investigating tAK technology and Protak Scientific is now the exclusive licensee of the technology for decontamination validation worldwide. Phillip Godden, CEO, Protak Scientific said “The Enzyme Indicator is a surrogate of the Biological Indicator (Geobacillus Stearothermophilus). In order to check their reliability, they can initially be combined with biological indicators, both for cycle development and for validation.” Enzyme indicators are a new, viable and instant alternative to the current biological indicators used in decontamination validation. The 7-day waiting time to get the results of the Biological Indicators (BI) has come to an end. TThese new biochemical indicators allow results of validation of vapour decontamination with hydrogen peroxide (VH2O2) to be obtained in an instantaneous and quantifiable way. Protak Scientific is the exclusive licensee of the technology for decontamination validation and has appointed Netsteril as the exclusive distributor in Spain. The Enzyme Indicator is based on thermostable Adenylate Kinase, an enzyme whose presence and activity can be rapidly measured by luminescence assays. This enzyme, unlike many proteins, is very thermostable and resistant to oxidizing agents. It has a very predictable biphasic inactivation profile. These characteristics make it suitable for monitoring and quantification of oxidation decontamination processes such as VH2O2. Indicators with thermostable Adenylate Kinase (tAK), once processed, are used to catalyse a biochemical reaction with Luciferin / Luciferase. Such a reaction produces bioluminescence instantaneously. The individual photons of light produced by this reaction are recorded with a special Lunometer and an accurate measure of the degree of inactivation of the tAK indicator is achieved. www.protakscientific.co

FINTECH SMES

Energy tariff company Labrador raised over £1 million, led by Hambro Perks

Labrador founder and CEO Jane Lucy said “Labrador solves many of the issues slowing the Government’s smart meter roll out, whilst additionally unlocking new benefits. “For consumers it enables them to automatically switch suppliers through their smart meter and save money without keeping the onus for action on the consumer to drive change. For the energy industry this service promotes competition and will allow smaller energy companies to offer competitive tariffs to smart customers currently served by ‘Big 6’ and other large energy companies.” The investors include two ex-bosses from the ‘Big 6’ energy suppliers - Ian Marchant, the ex-CEO of SSE Plc and Stephen Beynon, ex-British Gas Residential MD, who has also joined the board as a non-exec director of Labrador. The investment firm, Hambro Perks, has also invested and worked with Labrador to secure other investors. Once plugged in, Labrador’s smart energy device can automatically switch consumers to a better energy deal based on their individual energy usage. This makes a ‘frictionless’ switch using smart technology to a new energy supplier possible for the first time. Labrador has already undertaken a pilot in conjunction with one of the major price comparison sites where a number of home energy users who tried the smart energy device found they were set to save up to £2,500 on their energy bills, with minimal effort. The funds raised will enable Labrador to rapidly roll out its offer across Great Britain which supports the Government’s ambitions to have smart energy meters installed in every home – by enabling customers to save thousands on their energy bills, without having to do anything. Labrador will also promote competition within the energy industry, by using its technology platform to ensure customers with existing smart meters do not lose smart functionality when they switch to another supplier with a more competitive tariff. www.thelabrador.co.uk

JCRA Group secures backing of Connection Capital for its £13.6m MBO

JCRA is a provider of hedging, financial risk and debt consultancy services, including interest rate and foreign exchange advice. Connection Capital clients invested £6.7m in the deal, which will support JCRA’s management team in executing its business development plans: driving growth by maximising synergies within its business, continued geographic expansion across their existing areas of operation, and implementing technological enhancements to drive efficiency. Founded in 1989, the company is now the market leader in its field in the UK, and has grown strongly in Europe and established an emerging North American presence. Last year alone, JCRA advised on more than 700 transactions totalling £39bn for clients based in 30 different countries. Globally, JCRA is the second largest advisory firm in its ‘Over the Counter’ (OTC) derivatives niche, and is widely recognised for its technical capabilities, as well as the quality of its advice, particularly for more complex, larger transactions. Its services cover six core markets: project finance, private equity, corporates, social housing, real estate and operating assets (such as care providers and student accommodation).

It has a highly diversified customer base: its blue-chip clients include 3i, Bridgepoint, Travelodge, the Consensus Group, and Barings. These clients increasingly demand independent expertise to ensure their hedging decisions are optimal, and the pricing of derivative products is transparent. Connection Capital says that market dynamics are positive at this point in the cycle, as looming interest rate rises and increasing FX volatility drive demand for hedging and risk management advice. In addition, banks have largely retreated from providing advice on OTC derivatives, in the wake of several mis-selling claims and increased regulation of their activities, which has left significant growth potential in the specialist risk advisory market. Miles Otway, Partner at Connection Capital, says: “JCRA has an enviable reputation for quality, a great track record and is the market leader in its specialist niche. The company has real potential to expand both in the UK and abroad. Jackie and the wider team are highly impressive and we are delighted to support them in this next stage of the Company’s growth plans.” JCRA CEO Jackie Bowie said “The investment will enable the team to continue with our ambitious growth plans. We have a bold vision for the future and the successful completion of the transaction means we can move to the next phase of our development.” https://jcragroup.com

Runcorn-based firm First Capital Cashflow Ltd shortlisted for a national award

Payment bureau First Capital Cashflow has been nominated as one of the five leading regulated organisations in the Emerging Payments Awards. The nomination comes as the business enjoys record breaking financial success. The business processed £8 billion worth of transactions for clients last year, the largest amount in its 15-year history. Their wide range of clients include the UK’s first challenger bank, public sector bodies and leading insurance and energy companies. MD Conrad Broadbent said: “The business has gone from strength to strength in recent years, repeatedly breaking our own records and continually growing our client base. We constantly update our technology and always seek to be at the forefront of direct debit and direct credit development driving the industry forward to offer the best service possible to clients.” Other organisations shortlisted include Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, the Post Office and Mastercard. The company, which employs 20 people, doubled the size of their offices earlier this year after moving to a new site on the national science and innovation campus at Daresbury in Cheshire. www.firstcapitalcashflow.com

MicroSME BrightLET offers cloud-based letting software for landlords

Founder Camran Khan’s family is heavily involved in property investment businesses. Paying fees to management companies has often cut owner’s margins. In response, he

created a cloud-based letting software programme aimed at those with a large property portfolio.Mr Khan, who specialises in automated systems, believed that if any manual process takes more than 3 minutes it is always worth trying to automate it, an act that could save companies on operational costs and overheads.Throughout the development, Camran involved other landlords to get their feedback for improvements, as well as to research new features to implement. In November 2016, BrightLET was born (beta launch), and a focus group was held for landlords to test the product and provide feedback. This initial feedback was constructive and improvements were made to have a final product ready in January 2017. A further focus group was held with 99% of landlords who used the platform saying that it was very easy to use and that it has made their lives easier. To date, brightLET has been used by over 350 landlords who have uploaded over 200 properties, of which 600 rooms have been let by over 900 tenants. Mr Khan was shortlisted as one of the Top 10 Disruptive CTOs in the UK back in 2015. www.brightlet.com

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Chemicals firm Croda invests in Strathclyde spinout Cutitronics

Cutitronics founder David Heath said “We’re excited to be recognised by Croda and to now be partnering with them. The support from the team at Croda will be invaluable to us as we seek to develop our CutiTron technology, and grow our team.” As part of the partnership deal, Croda’s President of Personal Care & North America, Sandra Breene has been appointed to the Cutitronics board as a part-time Non-Executive Officer. Cutitronics’ signature product, CutiTron, is an at-home personal care device that assesses skin health and maximises product efficacy by stimulating skin, allowing skin care applications to penetrate into the deeper layers. Its technology is focused on enhancing skincare routines – it is being used by renowned beauty brands. Cutitronics was set up in 2014 as a spin-out after Mr Heath saw a gap in the market for personalised, adaptive skin care, helping consumers achieve their “desired” results by using engineering and technology-based innovation. Patented CutiTron technology includes assessment of personal skin health, a unique method of automated skin stimulation to boost topical product absorption and precise personalised dosage. It added that Croda’s recognition of this unique patented process as being “truly innovative and disruptive technology for the personal care industry” led to its minority shareholding. Mr Heath said: “This milestone is the culmination of a process begun three years ago, to validate CutiTron technically and commercially. The support from the team at Croda will be invaluable to us as we seek to develop our CutiTron technology and grow our own team.”

www.cutitronics.com

Newcastle-based Atelerix Ltd develops way of transporting stem cells – in seaweed The technology, which has been developed by Newcastle University spinout Atelerix, uses a gel made from seaweed to protect human cells without having to freeze them. Atelerix’s new system makes it simpler to transport cells used in stem cell therapy, and allows them to be delivered in a ready to use format. Scientific founder, Prof Che Connon of Newcastle University, has been working on the technology for five years. The company is now planning to target three main markets, with the first being selling to companies that supply cells for research and development purposes. The firm is also planning to sell its services to cell therapy and regenerative medicine companies directly. Atelerix is also focusing on the development of a stem cell bandage, called StemGel, which can be used to treat injuries, burns, and wounds. It will initially be used on the outer layer of the eye. Prof Connon said: “Encapsulating cells in the alginate hydrogel is a simple, low cost system capable of preserving the viability and functionality of cells at temperatures between 4°C and 21°C for extended periods of time. “Used as a method of cell storage and transport, it overcomes the acknowledged problems associated with cryo-shipping. Cells are encapsulated by in... the gel for shipping in plates or vials, and can be rapidly released from the gel by the addition of a simple buffer.” Dr Mick McLean, CEO for Atelerix, said: “Understanding both the technology and its commercial potential is essential for the translation of great science into an exciting business opportunity. “Putting these elements in place by working together with the expert scientific team means that Atelerix has a clear value proposition - we enable the transport and storage of human cells at room temperature.” The company is the first spinout to be created by the Northern Accelerator programme, a joint project between Newcastle and Durham University. The Northern Accelerator project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. It aims to create high-tech spinout companies by attracting talented business leaders to the North East. www.atelerix.co.uk

Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund backs spinout Relative Insight

Maven Capital Partners has invested into Lancaster-based Relative Insight on behalf of the fund. Maven was appointed earlier this year to manage the £57.5m NPIF – Maven Equity Finance fund, which focuses on providing flexible equity funding to high-potential SMEs primarily based in the North West. Relative Insight was born out of a ten-year research project with Lancaster University’s linguistic and cyber security departments.

In the beginning, the company used its language analysis technology to help law enforcement agencies identify criminals masquerading as children in chat rooms. Today, it applies the same methods to help brands interact and communicate more effectively with their audiences, focusing on comparing the way people speak to derive insights that fuel sharper strategy and smarter communication. The company’s current client base includes Disney, Unilever, Havas and R/GA. Ben Hookway, chief executive at Relative Insight, said: “The investment from Maven will allow us to ramp up our customer-facing operations, accelerate development, and capitalise on the proliferating opportunities in the UK and, increasingly, the USA. Having customers like Unilever and Disney proves that we have a valuable solution and the investment will allow us to scale to new customers.” Martin Clark, investment manager at Maven, said: “Maven is very pleased to have secured this investment into Relative Insight and look forward to working with the talented management team, helping them achieve their ambitious growth plans. Relative Insight epitomises the kind of early-stage growth business that the equity finance part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund is designed to assist.” https://relativeinsight.com

AND FINALLY

The late summer’s fly-tipping season is here. Yet out of 936,000 fly-tipping incidents in 2015-16 only 129 vehicles were seized, and out of 2,135 prosecutions only 77 fines of more than £1,000 were imposed, according to figures published by Defra. Seizing vehicles must become the default penalty for fly-tipping, say the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). Over the Bank Holiday weekend incidents rise sharply. As well as seizing vehicles, the CLA recommends enforcing fines for home and business owners whose waste is found in fly-tipped locations and appointing a ‘Fly-Tipping Tsar’ to co-ordinate with national agencies. It also proposes developing new ways to clear up and support victims so that private landowners are not liable, educating the public, and working in partnership to reduce waste crime through best practice. A survey conducted by Farmers Weekly and CLA Insurance revealed that almost two thirds of farmers and landowners had been affected by fly-tipping and more than half agreed it was a significant issue. Most farmers said they had been targeted two or three times a month and – because private landowners are liable for the clean-up costs – were spending on average £844 per incident.

Anyone who wonders why some UK firms get furious with councils – need only inspect the decision by Kent County Council to undertake exhaustive roadworks in the town of Folkestone. Retailers expect some 15,000 customers to shy away from Folkestone town centre due to roadworks planned for a full 12 weeks – or most of the summer. Sandgate Road, between The Chambers and KFC, is having pavement replacement works completed by Kent County Council (KCC) for three months. Work started in June on the first day of the summer holidays, when the town centre is often packed with families,

teenagers and children. Many parking spaces were revoked in a crucial part of the High Street. Martyn Jackson, MD of Landau Sport, a fashion store said: “We were told by KCC it was too late to change the schedule of works.” He added: “Work is being undertaken on two phases, which were going to take 24 weeks and take us through to Christmas. These works could not be done at a worse time for the retail section as dialogue should have taken place with the retail sector to minimise disruption to the stores. They should have commenced in January 2018.” Contact: Steve Stickels: steve.snickels@kentgov.uk

Signal faults cause delays, alterations and cancellations around the South West Trains and Great Western Railway networks on a very regular basis. One frustrated commuter even put in a Freedom of Information request about them - which revealed they had been the cause of disruption on 27 days during a 10-week period at the start of 2017. On July 6, a serious signal failure led to chaos at London Paddington Station. Commuters faced delays of three hours trying to get home and drivers were having to stop their trains to talk to the signal operators to try to get in and out of the station. Users of London Waterloo also experienced major delays the previous day as a result of a signal fault. We’ve learned signal faults are regular occurrences that are very irritating when you’re trying to get around. As well as the signals by the side of the line, the problems can include track circuits, axle counters, treadles, point monitors and actuators, as well as the high-tech communication systems. Why do they fail? There are a wide range of reasons why signals fail. Common ones include power cuts or blown fuses in circuits. According to the National Rail Enquiries website, other reasons include cabling being damaged and circuit faults so the precise location of trains cannot be known. A Network Rail spokesman said: “Our signalling system is designed to ‘fail safe’, to prioritise safety. So if there’s a power failure, the signal goes black and the driver knows not to pass a signal unless it has a green or yellow light; and if a point fails, the last signal before the set of points affected will automatically turn red so no trains pass.” Network Rail has been focusing on power supply problems, and will introduce uninterruptable power supplies (UPS), which will kick in if the main supply is cut. They have already been introduced on the West Coast line. In other areas, ageing cables have been replaced. The power supply is also continually monitored, as well as annually inspected. Network Rail has also invested in new fault-finding equipment to fix potential problems before they happen. The technology allows the condition of equipment to be remotely monitored and faults to be identified as soon as they happen, which allows staff to react more quickly so trains can run again

The first cladding system using PIR solid foam insulation has passed the Government’s stringent fire tests in the wake of London’s Grenfell disaster. Aluminium cladding using a limited combustibility filler (A2) and PIR foam insulation boards passes BRE large-scale fire test It is the second cladding system to pass the large-scale fire test giving the industry a clear insight into which systems meet Building Regulation performance guidance.

The latest test results now suggest that PIR insulation can be fitted to a high-rise building, but only when used with aluminium composite material cladding using a ‘limited combustibility’ (stone) filler. So far no high-rise buildings have been registered with the Government as having this particular combination of materials. These suggest that at least 206 buildings over 18m in height that have been reported to the Government will need to be re-clad.

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